Rivera utilizing subtle changes in schemes

At first glance, and even on a second and third viewing, the Chargers defense in its debut under the direction of Ron Rivera did not seem all that different in the way it was orchestrated than under Ted Cottrell.

“We're not trying to reinvent anything,” defensive end Luis Castillo said this week.

However, when comparing the way the Chargers lined up and tried to pressure and confound the quarterback against New Orleans (Cottrell's final game before being fired) and against Kansas City (in Rivera's first game since being elevated from inside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator), some interesting differences and similarities emerged.

Both quarterbacks dropped back 40 times, which does not count two passes near the goal line for the Chiefs and one for the Saints.

On pass plays against the Saints, the Chargers rushed three players three times, four 24 times, five 11 times and six twice. On plays the Chiefs dropped to pass, the Chargers never rushed three or six, rushed four 30 times and five 10 times.

Outside linebacker Shaun Phillips was in coverage or dropped back into coverage 15 times against New Orleans, 14 times against Kansas City.

Stephen Cooper blitzed twice as many times against the Chiefs as he did against the Saints. Eric Weddle did not blitz at all against New Orleans and twice against the Chiefs.

Rivera sent more people from more places, disguised more. Cottrell played less zone coverage and mixed up his coverage more.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees dropped more often and deeper and had more time than the Chiefs' Tyler Thigpen, who was in shotgun for 38 of his 41 passes.

By some measures, the Chargers were more aggressive under Cottrell. By some, more under Rivera. In all, it was something of a wash and certainly less of a change than expected or desired from the outside.

“You come in and you can't make wholesale changes,” Rivera said, pointing out the defense practiced for a year-and-a-half under Cottrell's guidance and scheme and 10 days under his. “You have to pick and choose what we do.”

All that said, there were blocks on which to build this past Sunday, not the least being the Chargers won and the defense emerged with confidence in its leader and confidence in itself.

Even Phillips, clearly not pleased with how much he is being dropped into coverage, said: “We won. If we lose the game, then I'm going to say blitz me every play, and I'm (angry) I'll do whatever it takes to win. Stats are great, productivity is great, but I'll set it aside for a win. I'm still a believer of the game plan. We have to play in the system. We have 10 other guys. It's not about me.”

The Chargers' only sack against the Chiefs – their only sack in three-plus games – came when Thigpen ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage. They knocked Thigpen down only once, but they did have five hurries against a quarterback getting rid of the ball extremely quickly.

“People say we didn't get pressure,” Cooper said. “But a lot of time we did get pressure. We were getting in his face.”

But Rivera was far from pleased with how often his pass rushers won their one-on-one battles.

Still, they played well against the Chiefs.

Save for the opening and closing drives, the Chargers' defense pretty much shut down the Chiefs – allowing 201 yards and a touchdown on the eight middle drives. On their first five possessions of the second half, the Chiefs had just 18 plays. The Chiefs had fewer plays (60) than any Chargers opponent this season, and the 339 total yards allowed were the fourth-fewest this season and fewer than in the previous two games.

They did this while playing about as vanilla a defense as they have in five years, rarely varying from the 3-4 and in the second half rarely disguising and playing almost exclusively zone defense.

“Some of the things we're trying to adapt and change is the way we play our base defense,” Rivera said. “We're trying to incorporate one of the sub packages where we bring in three extra rushers as opposed to two. We're trying to expand what we do. We had a little bit this week, and we have a little bit more coming up.”

There was enough different – more pre-snap disguising, varied blitzes – to indicate this defense will evolve, based on the opponent.

“We had a good mixture,” Castillo said. “We didn't try to do too much. We will add some things We'll do some new things, but the goal right now is to get really good at what we do best.”

At first glance, and even on a second and third viewing, the Chargers defense in its debut under the direction of Ron Rivera did not seem all that different in the way it was orchestrated than under Ted Cottrell.

“We're not trying to reinvent anything,” defensive end Luis Castillo said this week.

However, when comparing the way the Chargers lined up and tried to pressure and confound the quarterback against New Orleans (Cottrell's final game before being fired) and against Kansas City (in Rivera's first game since being elevated from inside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator), some interesting differences and similarities emerged.

Both quarterbacks dropped back 40 times, which does not count two passes near the goal line for the Chiefs and one for the Saints.

On pass plays against the Saints, the Chargers rushed three players three times, four 24 times, five 11 times and six twice. On plays the Chiefs dropped to pass, the Chargers never rushed three or six, rushed four 30 times and five 10 times.

Outside linebacker Shaun Phillips was in coverage or dropped back into coverage 15 times against New Orleans, 14 times against Kansas City.

Stephen Cooper blitzed twice as many times against the Chiefs as he did against the Saints. Eric Weddle did not blitz at all against New Orleans and twice against the Chiefs.

Rivera sent more people from more places, disguised more. Cottrell played less zone coverage and mixed up his coverage more.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees dropped more often and deeper and had more time than the Chiefs' Tyler Thigpen, who was in shotgun for 38 of his 41 passes.

By some measures, the Chargers were more aggressive under Cottrell. By some, more under Rivera. In all, it was something of a wash and certainly less of a change than expected or desired from the outside.

“You come in and you can't make wholesale changes,” Rivera said, pointing out the defense practiced for a year-and-a-half under Cottrell's guidance and scheme and 10 days under his. “You have to pick and choose what we do.”

All that said, there were blocks on which to build this past Sunday, not the least being the Chargers won and the defense emerged with confidence in its leader and confidence in itself.

Even Phillips, clearly not pleased with how much he is being dropped into coverage, said: “We won. If we lose the game, then I'm going to say blitz me every play, and I'm (angry) I'll do whatever it takes to win. Stats are great, productivity is great, but I'll set it aside for a win. I'm still a believer of the game plan. We have to play in the system. We have 10 other guys. It's not about me.”

The Chargers' only sack against the Chiefs – their only sack in three-plus games – came when Thigpen ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage. They knocked Thigpen down only once, but they did have five hurries against a quarterback getting rid of the ball extremely quickly.

“People say we didn't get pressure,” Cooper said. “But a lot of time we did get pressure. We were getting in his face.”

But Rivera was far from pleased with how often his pass rushers won their one-on-one battles.

Still, they played well against the Chiefs.

Save for the opening and closing drives, the Chargers' defense pretty much shut down the Chiefs – allowing 201 yards and a touchdown on the eight middle drives. On their first five possessions of the second half, the Chiefs had just 18 plays. The Chiefs had fewer plays (60) than any Chargers opponent this season, and the 339 total yards allowed were the fourth-fewest this season and fewer than in the previous two games.

They did this while playing about as vanilla a defense as they have in five years, rarely varying from the 3-4 and in the second half rarely disguising and playing almost exclusively zone defense.

“Some of the things we're trying to adapt and change is the way we play our base defense,” Rivera said. “We're trying to incorporate one of the sub packages where we bring in three extra rushers as opposed to two. We're trying to expand what we do. We had a little bit this week, and we have a little bit more coming up.”

There was enough different – more pre-snap disguising, varied blitzes – to indicate this defense will evolve, based on the opponent.

“We had a good mixture,” Castillo said. “We didn't try to do too much. We will add some things We'll do some new things, but the goal right now is to get really good at what we do best.”

At first glance, and even on a second and third viewing, the Chargers defense in its debut under the direction of Ron Rivera did not seem all that different in the way it was orchestrated than under Ted Cottrell.

“We're not trying to reinvent anything,” defensive end Luis Castillo said this week.

However, when comparing the way the Chargers lined up and tried to pressure and confound the quarterback against New Orleans (Cottrell's final game before being fired) and against Kansas City (in Rivera's first game since being elevated from inside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator), some interesting differences and similarities emerged.

Both quarterbacks dropped back 40 times, which does not count two passes near the goal line for the Chiefs and one for the Saints.

On pass plays against the Saints, the Chargers rushed three players three times, four 24 times, five 11 times and six twice. On plays the Chiefs dropped to pass, the Chargers never rushed three or six, rushed four 30 times and five 10 times.

Outside linebacker Shaun Phillips was in coverage or dropped back into coverage 15 times against New Orleans, 14 times against Kansas City.

Stephen Cooper blitzed twice as many times against the Chiefs as he did against the Saints. Eric Weddle did not blitz at all against New Orleans and twice against the Chiefs.

Rivera sent more people from more places, disguised more. Cottrell played less zone coverage and mixed up his coverage more.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees dropped more often and deeper and had more time than the Chiefs' Tyler Thigpen, who was in shotgun for 38 of his 41 passes.

By some measures, the Chargers were more aggressive under Cottrell. By some, more under Rivera. In all, it was something of a wash and certainly less of a change than expected or desired from the outside.

“You come in and you can't make wholesale changes,” Rivera said, pointing out the defense practiced for a year-and-a-half under Cottrell's guidance and scheme and 10 days under his. “You have to pick and choose what we do.”

All that said, there were blocks on which to build this past Sunday, not the least being the Chargers won and the defense emerged with confidence in its leader and confidence in itself.

Even Phillips, clearly not pleased with how much he is being dropped into coverage, said: “We won. If we lose the game, then I'm going to say blitz me every play, and I'm (angry) I'll do whatever it takes to win. Stats are great, productivity is great, but I'll set it aside for a win. I'm still a believer of the game plan. We have to play in the system. We have 10 other guys. It's not about me.”

The Chargers' only sack against the Chiefs – their only sack in three-plus games – came when Thigpen ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage. They knocked Thigpen down only once, but they did have five hurries against a quarterback getting rid of the ball extremely quickly.

“People say we didn't get pressure,” Cooper said. “But a lot of time we did get pressure. We were getting in his face.”

But Rivera was far from pleased with how often his pass rushers won their one-on-one battles.

Still, they played well against the Chiefs.

Save for the opening and closing drives, the Chargers' defense pretty much shut down the Chiefs – allowing 201 yards and a touchdown on the eight middle drives. On their first five possessions of the second half, the Chiefs had just 18 plays. The Chiefs had fewer plays (60) than any Chargers opponent this season, and the 339 total yards allowed were the fourth-fewest this season and fewer than in the previous two games.

They did this while playing about as vanilla a defense as they have in five years, rarely varying from the 3-4 and in the second half rarely disguising and playing almost exclusively zone defense.

“Some of the things we're trying to adapt and change is the way we play our base defense,” Rivera said. “We're trying to incorporate one of the sub packages where we bring in three extra rushers as opposed to two. We're trying to expand what we do. We had a little bit this week, and we have a little bit more coming up.”

There was enough different – more pre-snap disguising, varied blitzes – to indicate this defense will evolve, based on the opponent.

“We had a good mixture,” Castillo said. “We didn't try to do too much. We will add some things We'll do some new things, but the goal right now is to get really good at what we do best.”

At first glance, and even on a second and third viewing, the Chargers defense in its debut under the direction of Ron Rivera did not seem all that different in the way it was orchestrated than under Ted Cottrell.

“We're not trying to reinvent anything,” defensive end Luis Castillo said this week.

However, when comparing the way the Chargers lined up and tried to pressure and confound the quarterback against New Orleans (Cottrell's final game before being fired) and against Kansas City (in Rivera's first game since being elevated from inside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator), some interesting differences and similarities emerged.

Both quarterbacks dropped back 40 times, which does not count two passes near the goal line for the Chiefs and one for the Saints.

On pass plays against the Saints, the Chargers rushed three players three times, four 24 times, five 11 times and six twice. On plays the Chiefs dropped to pass, the Chargers never rushed three or six, rushed four 30 times and five 10 times.

Outside linebacker Shaun Phillips was in coverage or dropped back into coverage 15 times against New Orleans, 14 times against Kansas City.

Stephen Cooper blitzed twice as many times against the Chiefs as he did against the Saints. Eric Weddle did not blitz at all against New Orleans and twice against the Chiefs.

Rivera sent more people from more places, disguised more. Cottrell played less zone coverage and mixed up his coverage more.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees dropped more often and deeper and had more time than the Chiefs' Tyler Thigpen, who was in shotgun for 38 of his 41 passes.

By some measures, the Chargers were more aggressive under Cottrell. By some, more under Rivera. In all, it was something of a wash and certainly less of a change than expected or desired from the outside.

“You come in and you can't make wholesale changes,” Rivera said, pointing out the defense practiced for a year-and-a-half under Cottrell's guidance and scheme and 10 days under his. “You have to pick and choose what we do.”

All that said, there were blocks on which to build this past Sunday, not the least being the Chargers won and the defense emerged with confidence in its leader and confidence in itself.

Even Phillips, clearly not pleased with how much he is being dropped into coverage, said: “We won. If we lose the game, then I'm going to say blitz me every play, and I'm (angry) I'll do whatever it takes to win. Stats are great, productivity is great, but I'll set it aside for a win. I'm still a believer of the game plan. We have to play in the system. We have 10 other guys. It's not about me.”

The Chargers' only sack against the Chiefs – their only sack in three-plus games – came when Thigpen ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage. They knocked Thigpen down only once, but they did have five hurries against a quarterback getting rid of the ball extremely quickly.

“People say we didn't get pressure,” Cooper said. “But a lot of time we did get pressure. We were getting in his face.”

But Rivera was far from pleased with how often his pass rushers won their one-on-one battles.

Still, they played well against the Chiefs.

Save for the opening and closing drives, the Chargers' defense pretty much shut down the Chiefs – allowing 201 yards and a touchdown on the eight middle drives. On their first five possessions of the second half, the Chiefs had just 18 plays. The Chiefs had fewer plays (60) than any Chargers opponent this season, and the 339 total yards allowed were the fourth-fewest this season and fewer than in the previous two games.

They did this while playing about as vanilla a defense as they have in five years, rarely varying from the 3-4 and in the second half rarely disguising and playing almost exclusively zone defense.

“Some of the things we're trying to adapt and change is the way we play our base defense,” Rivera said. “We're trying to incorporate one of the sub packages where we bring in three extra rushers as opposed to two. We're trying to expand what we do. We had a little bit this week, and we have a little bit more coming up.”

There was enough different – more pre-snap disguising, varied blitzes – to indicate this defense will evolve, based on the opponent.

“We had a good mixture,” Castillo said. “We didn't try to do too much. We will add some things We'll do some new things, but the goal right now is to get really good at what we do best.”

BY Kevin Acee

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I think Rivera needs more than his first game to be judged by.
Who knows, maybe he wanted to test out schemes before settling on what he feels will work best.

It takes a while to implement what you want in a defense/offense that's why they have training camp and pre-season etc to work on it. So to expect Rivera to completely change the defense in a few weeks when most take months (at least) to implement what they want is asking for a lot. The best we can ask for is tweaks and hope that they fix the problem.

Hopefully we'll see the defense progressively improve, that was the problem with Cottrell is that after 8 weeks we were still as awful as week 2.

Exactly, I liked how he made a conscious decision to not send the house a ton when it was obvious that the Chiefs were gonna do a bunch of three step drops. You aren't gonna get there anyway. They then played tighter coverage with more help over the top and it worked for the entire middle of the game (should have stuck with it for the last drive, but the corners backed off)